Passengers aboard an Aeroméxico plane about to leave the Culiacán, Sinaloa airport for Mexico City, lived moments of terror this Thursday when they heard shots on the takeoff runway, after Mexican soldiers captured near there Ovidio Guzmán López, son of the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín
El Chapo
Guzmán.
David Téllez, 42, was aboard Aeroméxico flight 165 with his three young children when violence broke out in Culiacán over the arrest of Guzmán,
considered one of the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel
and one of the most wanted men by the United States. Joined.
In a video that Téllez shared on the social network Twitter, the passengers of the aircraft are seen visibly upset and lying on the ground while some ask: "What is happening?"
They still did not know that a bullet had hit the plane.
Téllez told in an interview with Noticias Telemundo how he had to overcome several blockades at dawn to get to the Culiacán airport, in the midst of chaos in the city streets, where cars burned and several agents were injured.
“We were on our way to the airport at approximately 6:15 in the morning, mountain time, and there were several trucks on the road, but we managed to avoid them quickly,” the father of the family said in an audio message through WhatsApp.
Hiding in the airport bathroom
Upon arriving at the terminal, Téllez noticed that "the guards at the entrance were very nervous."
Later, in the waiting room, he asked the store employees what was happening.
They recommended that if he had a family, it was best to hide in the bathroom.
David Téllez's plane ticket for Aeroméxico flight 165, from Culiacán to Mexico City.David Téllez
The man and his children remained hidden in the bathroom until they announced the boarding of their flight to Mexico City.
“It was a three or four minute boarding,” he recounted.
But the plane could not take off immediately "because two large military planes had been landing, then three other smaller propeller planes landed, also military," Téllez explained.
"They gave us, we have a leak!"
The runway was filled with soldiers "as if in a fighting position, taking aim at a part of a vacant lot," the passenger said.
When the commercial aircraft finally made its way to takeoff position, "shots began to ring out and we all threw ourselves to the floor of the plane, as shown in the video."
The pilot then accelerated and steered the aircraft back toward the terminal, Tellez said.
"The flight attendant who was coming with us leaned out of the window and said: "They hit us, we have a leak!"
The Mexican authorities have not reported who fired the bullet that hit the Aeroméxico plane.
According to federal authorities, there were at least 19 blockades and armed attacks on Thursday in the Sinaloan capital after the military operation, including the one at the airport.
Some 900 military and police commandos were needed to recapture 'El Ratón', son of 'El Chapo' Guzmán
Jan 5, 202303:05
Upon arriving back at the terminal, the authorities took the passengers off Flight 165 and took them to an immigration control room where they remained for several minutes.
"Later, they took us up to the waiting room and told us: 'everyone can go home, but it is at their own risk because the city is also on fire."
[They gun down 'El Neto,' the criminal leader who escaped from a prison in Ciudad Juárez causing a tragic riot]
Tellez said she was staying at the airport with her children, waiting for flights to resume or to be told it was safe to return to the city.
"Many Army helicopters are landing and taking off, as well as a large propeller plane," he said Thursday afternoon.
More flights canceled in Sinaloa
The airline confirmed that a bullet hit the plane's fuselage area, for which the takeoff was suspended.
The Culiacán airport canceled all flights until 10:00 pm on Thursday.
The airports of Mazatlán and Los Mochis also suspended scheduled trips, after blockades were registered on the roads that connect them.
"After the incident, the company's protocols were activated and the corresponding authorities were notified, with whom we will coordinate the investigation," Aeroméxico said in a statement.
No one was injured
, the airline detailed.
Burnt vehicles block an avenue in Culiacán, Sinaloa, after the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán, on January 5, 2023. ESPEJO MAGAZINE / via REUTERS
It is not the first time that Ovidio Guzmán, alias 'El Ratón', has been captured by the Mexican authorities, nor is it the first time that his arrest unleashes violence in the streets.
Guzmán was arrested in 2019 but released soon after after a series of confrontations that authorities said they wanted to avoid.
The United States had offered $5 million for information leading to his capture
.
According to the State Department, he and his brother Joaquín are responsible for overseeing methamphetamine laboratories in Sinaloa.